'Once every 30 years'

In the Italian Alpine resort of Sestrieres, where more than 2 meters of snow fell in 48 hours, an avalanche struck a five-story building late on Monday, sending a mass of snow and broken branches into its corridors and even into several apartments, media reports said.

But the 29 people staying there managed to escape unharmed through the garage.

Heavy snowfall has blocked access to some Italian resorts and villages, among them Cervinia in the Valle d'Aosta region.

But with the school holidays now over, the number of tourists and residents cut off was around 5,000, sharply down on the 11,000 people in the area last week, Italian media said.

On the French side, where Meteo France said on Tuesday the avalanche threat has diminished, rescuers were able to start looking for a British skier missing for the past two days, with a helicopter searching the area where a signal from his mobile phone was last picked up.

The 39-year-old went missing in the resort of Tignes on Sunday after saying he wanted to complete "one last run", police said.

Parts of the Savoie area of the Alps have seen up to 1.8 meters of snow in just 36 hours in what French forecasters described as snowfall only seen "once every 30 years".

AFP - AP